Kenya Copyright Board has 17 members drawn from the public and private sectors – seven from the private sector represent software, producers of sound recordings, publishers, film distributors, performers, broadcasting stations and audio visual industry. Four experts on copyright and related rights and five representatives from the Office of the Attorney General, Commissioner of Police, Ministry of Information, Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Finance and an Executive Director.

The Kenya Copyright Board was created as a statutory body in 2001 and took over the functions of the Copyright Section in the Department of the Registrar General. It is mandated to enforce copyright and related rights in Kenya. The Board coordinates and oversees the implementation of laws and international treaties to which Kenya is a party

It also licenses and supervises the activities of Collective Management Organizations, carries out training programmes on copyright and related rights, updates copyright legislation and maintains an effective database on copyright and related rights.

Original musical, literary, artistic, audio visual works sound recordings and broadcasts are eligible for copyright protection. To be accepted for registration, a work must be original and expressed in writing or any other form. Originality means that the work is not copied from somebody else.

The applicant attaches two copes of the works; the form must be witnessed by a commissioner for oaths and accompanied by the required fees. The particulars required are the name and address of the applicant and category of works — artistic, literary, audio visual, musical, sound recording or a broad-cast.

On receipt of the application, the office makes enquiries and enters the particulars of the work in a Copyright Register the office processes the application and the outcome is communicated to the applicant. The names of successful applicants are published in the Kenya Gazette and a licensing certificate issued for one year.